Raja Casablanca made a bold statement about their intention this season in the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League as they opened their account defeating Uganda’s Vipers of Uganda 5-0.
The first round of matches in the group stage saw six exciting matches take place, with some surprising results and dominant performances.
Undoubtedly, one of the exciting fixtures of the stage was between Zamalek and CR Belouizdad where the Algerians registered a 1-0 victory – breaking many hearts in an otherwise cold Cairo night.
Raja’s win, inspired by Hamza Khabba, Jamal Harkass, Mohamed Zrida, Yousri Bouzouk and Roger Aholou took them to the top of their group C even though Horoya of Guinea defeated Tanzania’s Simba 1-0 in the group’s other match.
The first match of Group D saw Belouizdad securing a 1-0 away win over Zamalek, with the Algerian side scoring the only goal of the match in the second half through Cameroonian striker Leonel Wemba.
Esperance secured a 1-0 win over Al Merreikh of Sudan in the group, with the Tunisian side putting in a strong performance to secure the three points.
In Group A, Petro de Luanda and Kabylie played out a goalless draw, with neither side able to break the deadlock in a tightly contested match.
In South Africa, Mamelodi Sundowns secured a 1-0 win over Al Hilal of Sudan, with Sundowns scoring the only goal of the match in the first-half through Cassious Mailula.
Two matches were not played in the opening weekend due to the participation of Wydad Casablanca and Al Ahly in the Club World Cup in Morocco.
Their matches have been rescheduled for Friday, 3 March (Wydad Casablanca vs Vita Club) and Saturday, 4 March (Al Ahly vs Cotonsport).
